Day 3: Roye to Laon

Today was deliberately a short day so that I had time to visit the cathedral in Laon. However that didn't mean that I had to have a dull journey.

Inbetween the intensively farmed fields are substantial areas of wild flower meadow. This was a particular good section. I found a very interesting track that ran adjacent to a canal, passed above the mouth of a tunnel and then ran across the fields.

The St Gobain forest lay spot-on my route but, like most forests, the vast majority of tracks are clearly signed as closed. I did find one or two which were appeared to be open and took those that were running in the right direction.

 

As soon as I was out of the wooded hills the cathedral was the most prominent feature on the horizon.

The cathedral was built in the 1150s and has stayed intact, supposedly including the glass, until today. Quite remarkable when one considers the destruction that has taken place in the area over the last century. The cathedral is considered to pre-date Reims and Chartres and is well worth a visit. The town is compact and quiet too as it is less famous.

I stayed at the Campanile hotel which must have been 3km from the old town. It was a hot job walking into town. There were 3 shops with a rack on IGN maps but only one with the sheets I wanted. The 'new' edition in a citron-green cover are 'GPS compatible' which means they have a UTM grid but include far less detail than the old versions with a blue cover. Perhaps the survey is updated as some of the tracks have 'moved' but from a few investigations on the ground I'm not convinced that they are accurate.